As shown in FIG. 1, windows, doors, medicine cabinets, and the like, typically include an outer frame, commonly called a jamb 100, which is installed into a rough opening 102 in a wall 103, by installing a pair of wedge shaped shims 104 between the outside of the jamb 100 and the inner surface of the rough opening 102, and driving one or more finishing nails 106 through the jamb 100 and shims 104, and into framing of the wall 103 that defines the rough opening 102. This process leaves an unsightly gap 108 between the jamb 100 and the rough opening 102 that is typically covered, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with several pieces of carpentry trim, that are known individually and collectively as a window or door casing 110.
Although having to deal with covering the gap 108 is bothersome, the gap 108 is necessitated by the fact that rough openings 102 are generally not square and plumb or closely dimensioned enough to eliminate the gap 108. Door and window jambs 100 must be installed substantially plumb and square, in order for the door or window to operate properly. Even if the rough openings 102 could be made square and plumb, there are also small variations in width and height of the outer periphery of the jambs 100 that would make it necessary to frame the rough opening 102 to much tighter dimensions than can practically be achieved.
The inner periphery of the jambs 100 may also vary slightly over the length and width of the jamb 100, due to small amounts of warpage, or uneven support between the shims 104. There are also unavoidable small dimensional differences in the width and height of the inside dimensions of the jambs 100, from one door or window to the next, even in doors and windows that are of the same nominal width and height.
In order to accommodate the above described variations and dimensional differences, it is also common practice to position the inner edges 111, 112 of the trim pieces 113, 114 forming the casing 110 slightly back from the inner surface 115 of the jamb 100, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, to form space known as a reveal 116 that allows a small strip of the face 118 of the jamb 100 to remain exposed, inside of the casing 110, in the finished installation. The reveal 116 allows the position of the casing 110 to be shifted slightly, with respect to the inner surface 115 of the jamb 100, and the opening 102, to compensate for the variations and dimensional differences described above, in a manner that can be readily accomplished by a carpenter installing the casing 100, and in a way that is essentially undetectable to the eye of a casual observer of the finished installation. The reveal 116 also provides an aesthetically pleasing architectural enhancement of the appearance of the installed jamb 100 and casing 110.
In order to cut the trim pieces forming the casing 110 so that they fit together properly and are positioned at a reveal 116 selected to cover the gap 108, it is desirable to have an adjustable trim marking gage for marking guidelines 120, indicating the selected reveal 116, at several points along the face 118 of the jamb 110, as shown in FIG. 4. It is especially desirable to have an adjustable trim marking gage that can conveniently be used for marking intersecting guidelines 120, adjacent to corners 124 of the jamb 100, to create a corner mark 122 precisely indicating where the inside corner 126 of the casing 110 should be located in the finished installation. Once these corner marks 122 are marked on the face 118 of the jamb 100, the dimension between them, and the distance from the corner marks 122 to the floor for a door casing, can be accurately and conveniently measured, and used to cut the parts 113, 114 of the casing 110 so that they will fit together properly in the finished installation.
In the past, carpenters sometimes utilized specially cut blocks of wood, for marking the guidelines 120 and corner marks 122 on the face 118 of the jamb 100. Because these blocks were not adjustable to accommodate the variations and differences described above, it was necessary to continually re-cut the blocks, or cut a separate block for each window or door. This is obviously a very time consuming and wasteful process. It is also necessary, in some cases, to use a different reveal 116 for horizontal trim pieces 113, than is used for vertical trim pieces 114, thereby making the use of specially cut wooden blocks even more difficult.
There have been, in the past, attempts made at providing adjustable carpentry trim marking gages that could be used for marking guidelines 120 and corner marks 122 on the face 118 of a jamb 100. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,513,258; 5,737,844; and 5,123,172 show several prior approaches to providing an adjustable carpentry trim gage. None of these prior adjustable gages are entirely satisfactory for the desired purposes, however.
What is needed is an improved adjustable carpentry trim marking gage and method.